LUCAS: Title IX will rank among nation's most sweeping changes

EVANSVILLE - A lot of both ink and airtime have been devoted of late to commemorating the 40th anniversary of Title IX — more properly the Equal Opportunity in Education Act — a federal law enacted in 1972 that requires equal access regardless of sex to educational programs that receive federal funding.

The focus of most of this coverage has been on how the legislation opened athletic opportunities to women. But I would contend this aspect of Title IX is only the tip of the iceberg. Its impact has been much more pervasive.

I would suggest exploration is needed of questions such as:

Is Title IX responsible for the small church I attend being unable to find an organist or pianist?

Has Title IX perversely, given the focus on athletics, contributed to America's epidemic of obesity?

If as had been long contended, participating in organized sports programs developed teamwork, discipline and character in boys, are girls now reaping these same benefits?

Do middle-aged women gather at corner bars on Saturday afternoons to watch a game, have a few beers and relive when Ashleigh or Brittany sank that last-second shot from midcourt to clinch the title?

I don't pose these questions in a disparaging manner, but rather in an academic sense to acknowledge the impact of Title IX runs much deeper than the development of high school and college athletic programs for women.

I'm convinced that at some point in the future historians will look back and rank its impact on American society along side the adoption of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, Prohibition and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It brought change that we are only now beginning to realize. Surely Title IX is the fruition of what Rosie the Riveter started.

Forty years ago, although women were venturing into the workplace in greater numbers, more often than not they were relegated to roles that limited them to answering the phone, taking notes and making coffee. The template for the ideal American home was still to be seen on "Leave It to Beaver" and "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."

Forty years ago, girls still took piano lessons, and there was a ready pool of talent that churches such as mine could tap. Now they play basketball and soccer, and in many small towns one is hard pressed to find even a piano teacher.

Forty years ago, if girls participated in any school sports, they were limited to possibly track, golf and tennis. The guys played one or two games a week depending upon the season. But enter basketball, soccer and softball for girls into the mix, and parents suddenly had to schedule time at home.

Is it just possible that Title IX helped to fuel the rise of the fast food industry — and its attendant consequences — as tired, harried parents found a trip through the drive-through for burgers and fries the best option for supper?

The answer to all the questions is maybe … maybe not.

It's still a little too early to assess the law's full impact, but I have to think that Title IX was a real game-changer.